The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered another injury blow on Wednesday as Jake Guentzel is out week-to-week. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan did not disclose the injury, but he said it an upper-body injury.
#Penguins F Jake Guentzel will be sidelined on a “week-to-week” basis because of an undisclosed injury.https://t.co/6L3Q1Ku6dW
— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) December 8, 2021
Pittsburgh Penguins Lose Jake Guentzel
Guentzel appeared to be in some discomfort after after blocking a shot with his right hand early in the first period. He returned to the game to score two goals in Pittsburgh’s 6-1 win over the Seattle Kraken. It was the fourth straight game that the 27-year-old had scored at least one goal.
The former Stanley Cup Champion leads the Penguins in goals with 15 and has 27 points in 24 games this season. His Corsi for is 61.3 and his relative Corsi is 12.9 He also has 12 penalty minutes for the 2021-22 campaign.
The Omaha, Neb. native has only played for the Penguins in his six-year NHL career. He has 136 goals and 148 assists for 284 points in 323 career games. Pittsburgh took him in the third round, 77th overall of the 2013 NHL Draft. He’s at least scored 16 goals in all of his full seasons in the league.
Guentzel was a standout with his hometown Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks in the NCAA. He was named NCHC rookie team in 2014.
What It Means
The Penguins have been bit hard by the injury bug this season. Players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have missed significant time this year with various ailments. Crosby has made his way back into the lineup even after being tripped up by COVID.
Pittsburgh has still found a way to be in the post-season mix despite all of the problems its had. Guentzel played a big part of that and was producing over a point a game so far. The injury also comes in the midst of a recent hot-streak which included a hat trick against the Vancouver Canucks.
Coach Sullivan will also have to make some adjustments on the power play, as Guentzel was playing a large role on the extra-man unit.
